For more than half a century, the Myers family has grown potatoes near Ballarat, a city in the Australian state of Victoria, on soil food giant McCain says produces “some of the best quality and highest yielding potato crops in the world”.
But now the Myers and 28 other growers in the region say their livelihoods are at stake because of a proposed 190km (118 miles) trail of high voltage power lines linking a new wind farm in the state’s west to the state’s capital Melbourne. Suspended 80 metres (50 feet) above the ground by 380 steel towers, the lines will carry enough renewable energy to power half a million homes.
